THE minimum wage in Shenzhen will be raised to 1,100 yuan (US$160) per month from July 1, the government said at a news conference yesterday. The minimum wage for part-time employees is 9.8 yuan per hour.

The increase, 15.8 percent on average, was decided in consideration of the city's economic growth and the need to increase incomes for low-income families, director general of the city's human resources and social security bureau, Wang Min, told the news conference.

The minimum wage in Shenzhen is second to Shanghai, which had adjusted the minimum wage to 1,120 yuan.

At present, the minimum wage in Luohu, Futian, Nanshan and Yantian is 1,000 yuan per month, while it is just 900 yuan per month outside the Special Economic Zone.

It will be the first time the minimum wage has been standardized between SEZ districts and areas outside the SEZ.

"The minimum wage in areas outside the SEZ will be increased by 22.2 percent," Wang said.

In the short term, the change would increase operation costs for businesses, particularly labor-intensive industries in Bao'an and Longgang districts, but in the long run, it would improve competitiveness and facilitate enterprises to upgrade industries and speed up technological innovation, Wang said.

Shenzhen has had minimum wage standards for 18 years and raised wages every one or two years.

Since 2005, the minimum wage has increased by about 15 percent almost every year.